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Home / Archive: 16. February 2009
by Willie Gannon… During the week, Chelsea announced club losses to the tune of £67.5m in the year of 2007 to 2008.
And as Roman Abrahomvich looks to rein in the serious debt that the club have incurred over his reign, it is now guaranteed that there will be an end of season sale at Stamford Bridge.
After pledging that the club will be operating on zero losses in a single year by 2010, Peter Kenyon has all but confirmed that sales will take place in the summer.
Chelsea have been cutting their costs over the last four seasons without impacting upon the wage bill, but it now looks like that is the next target as the club looks to reduce its losses.
In 2005 the club recorded record losses of £140m, and since then, there has been a steady reduction in these figures. 2006 saw a dramatic reduction to -£80.2m which was followed up in 2007 and 2008 with -£74.8m and -£67.5, respectively.
The club had actually managed to reduce its losses last year to -£44.5 but had to pay out some £23m in compensation to ex-managers Jose Mourinho and Avram Grant after they and their staff were sacked by the club.
Luis Filipe Scolari will also receive compensation of £9m, but that figure will come out of next year’s accounts.
As the club look to reduce the Premiership’s highest wage bill of £130m a year, star names like Michael Ballack, Didier Drogba, Deco, Florent Malouda, Nicolas Anelka, and Joe Cole could all make their exit from Stamford Bridge.
All of the above players are amongst the highest paid in the Premiership and all can claim a weekly wage of six figures with the exception of Joe Cole.
Removing even one of these players from the wage bill would have an instant reduction of £5 to £6m. Move all six on and the club could save some £30m.
Moving these players on is easier said than done, though. And to do so Chelsea may have to agree to pay part of the players’ wages and face losing some key players.
Stars like Frank Lampard, John Terry, Ashley Cole, and Ricardo Carvalho will all be coveted by other clubs and with Chelsea sending the message out that they need to sell players, these stars are the most likely transfer targets.
And already stories have begun to emanate from the Eastlands about the proposed transfer of John Terry to Manchester City.
But Kenyon and Abrahmovich are adamant that these losses need to be tackled, so it looks likely that Chelsea will have to part with one or more of its sons.
“Any squad restructuring in the summer will be funded prominently by sales, as we have consistently reduced our net transfer spend over the last five years and will attempt to continue this trend,” said Peter Kenyon after the figures were released.
He added “We have ambitious targets…to require zero cash funding from the owner (Roman Abrahmovich) from the beginning of the financial year 2009/2010″
Since Roman Abrahmovich took over in 2003, the club has recorded combined losses of £448.5m. And the current wage bill of £130m accounts for 70 percent of their turnover. In comparison, Manchester United’s wage bill of £97m is 43 percent of their turnover.
In an effort to further reduce the club’s debt, Roman Abrahmovich has agreed to become the sole shareholder at the club. And the monies that the club owe him has been reduced from £609m to £339.8m as a result of him taking up the shares option.
Add all Abrahmovich’s monies at Chelsea together, and you come to a staggering investment of £710m since 2003.
The main reason for the Oligarch taking up this share option was twofold. In becoming sole owner of the club Abrahmovich has moved to insulate himself from the current global financial downturn.
With sterling reducing in value greatly over the last year, the Russian billionaire has seen billions wiped from his fortune. This share option insulates at least some of his wealth.
The other reason for Abrahmovich wiping some £300m from Chelsea’s debt is that it reduces the club’s tax liability.
Michel Platini and Lord Triesman have spoken about the game’s debt (Is the EPL Recession Proof, and how Foreign Investors and Debt Impact) in recent times and it is believed that tax liability is a battleground where UEFA can make progress against clubs who put themselves into serious debt to win trophies.
Another area that UEFA are looking at is club turnover and as recently as last week they put a proposal to Premier League clubs that was rejected. UEFA had wanted the clubs to agree to a points penalisation system if clubs spent more that 50 percent of turnover on wages.
On the plus side, Chelsea remain one of the World’s leading franchises and with Stamford Bridge being a guaranteed sell out every week, it comes as no surprise to see the clubs turnover rising by 12 percent to £213m. If the club can reduce it’s costs by £67m, it will record a profit for the first time in almost a decade.
The club have tackled debt all over the club in order to reduce it’s outgoings. All staff now pay for meals in the canteen instead of them being complimentary. Frank Arnesen’s scouting network has been all but demolished as Abrahmovich reduces the wage bill.
One member of staff that Chelsea will do everything in it’s power to hold on to is Peter Kenyon. The Manchester City fan is currently being sounded out from afar to become the new Chief Executive at the Manchester based club after the owners became unhappy with current chief Gary Cook and his botched handling of the proposed Kaka transfer.
The next step is the wages of the squad and with the Chelsea ship currently rudderless with a part time Captain in Guus Hiddink, the club will have to shell out and bring in a manager who can bring success on limited funding.
Jose Mourinho anyone? (click on the link to see an interview with the Inter manager)
By Mark Ritter…
You are the greatest swimmer on the planet. You have more Gold Medals than Heinz has got soup. You are good looking, Woman throw themselves at you continuously, you have loads of dough from all the endorsements you have signed with the likes of AT&T, Subway, Kellogg’s and Guitar Hero; you might even say you have the World in your hands. So, what now?
Let’s smoke a joint, shall we?
somewhere along the line, Michael Phelps, amongst all the accolades, celebrity status, money, Woman and Fame, made a bad choice. He didn’t go to a club and shoot himself in the foot, he didn’t murder his pregnant girlfriend, he didn’t kill a teammate whilst driving like a maniac, he didn’t patrol a Dog Fighting ring, all he did was smoke a little dope, and for that, the media and fans alike are all over this 23 YEAR OLD.
It has been noted by many a reporter that since the Beijing Olympics, Michael Phelps has been seen Partying at clubs, playing poker well into the night in Las Vegas, and, God forbid, he has been photographed with a young lady or two. Duh!!! Sounds like every freak’in 23 year old on the planet if you ask me!
What is the cost of smoking some Bud? Phelps stands to lose Millions of dollars in endorsements, he has lost his integrity amongst his peers, his fans are questioning his status for the 2012 games and if he so much as farts in an elevator he will be chastised. Really people, it was just a little sensi-melia. I mean, if it was “Ok” for the President, do you not think it is “Ok” for some 23 year old kid, who, for the most part, has been in a pool for much of his structured life? And don’t give me any of this “I didn’t inhale” stuff, that’s like saying “I had a beer in my hand, but I didn’t take a sip”- Bulllll- shittttt!
Here’s what I think, any 23 year old that wouldn’t get filmed having a good time and grabbing a little ass at the Playboy mansion outta have his head examined. I mean, are you kidding me? The Media is riding this guy for that? And, as for the spliff, well, if Rickey “Smokey” Williams can get absolved ten times from the NFL, we all owe it to Phelps to lay off and let him come back.
In the end I don’t approve of an athlete using drugs, but we are talking about Marijuana here, hell, Alcohol kills more people than any other drug on the planet, you don’t see people screaming at athlete’s every time you see one with a Rolling Rock in their hand, do you?
The kid is 23 years old, get off his butt and concentrate on the real issues. How ‘bout getting steroids out of sports? What about putting an end to the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox spending upwards of $120-200 Million a season on players when other teams can barely afford to pay $50 Million a year- is that not “Cheating”??? Ok, maybe not cheating, but it’s certainly unfair.
Phelps is sorry, he has been quoted as saying, “I let a lot of people in Country down”, “I am sorry, I promise my fans and the public it will not happen again”. Sounds like a kid who is willing to make changes, and, going forward, will make better choices.
In the end, this whole incident is much to do about nothing. At least Phelps isn’t denying it, saying he didn’t inhale or some BS like that. Phelps may be Smoke, but he isn’t trying to use Mirrors to hide the truth, for that he should be applauded.
Until next time,
Peace!
by Stoker dafire… The great “Sugar” Ray Leonard made many an exit and entry from the boxing game until a 23-year-old upstart warrior named Terry Norris finally put a “woodshed-style beating” on him in early 1991.
Chad Dawson, Carl Froch, even the great Bernard Hopkins are wondering what many fans already suspect; it looks as though Joe Calzaghe would rather retire than face the same demise.
Joe Calzaghe—undefeated world super middleweight champion and longest reigning world title holder in recent boxing history—announced his retirement after an incredible boxing career spanning almost two decades, which saw him unbeaten in 18 years.
Calzaghe’s overwhelming pressure fighting style combined with his lightning-fast barrages, which saw him breaking punch-stat numbers, made Joe unstoppable as a professional and amateur boxer.
If the great guitar rocker Jimi Hendrix were alive today, he might write something similar to the title of this article; only instead of it being a Steve Miller Band classic, it might go something like this—”hey Joe, where you going with those title belts in your hands.”
B-Hop wants a rematch to avenge the loss most people, including this writer, feel that he won; Hopkins says he is ready, able, and willing to travel to England to finish the job that he thought he had accomplished.
Chad Dawson is also a force to be reckoned with and is regarded by some—including Floyd Mayweather—to be the true No.1 pound for pound fighter.
There’s no one who wants a crack at Joe Cal, however, as much as the other undefeated Brit Super Middleweight Champ, Carl “The Cobra” Froch.
There’s certainly no love lost between these two champions, especially since Calzaghe’s recent derogatory comments regarding Froch’s British fight of the year against Canadian Jean Pascal.
Joe stated, “To be honest, he’s like a boy. He’s a limited fighter. He has no defense, he throws single shots, and he would make me look great. People keep saying ‘just fight the guy, you’d knock him out in three rounds.’ I probably would knock the guy out in three rounds.
“I need to fight guys who are going to improve my legacy. I need to fight guys I can be motivated to fight as a champion. He only won a belt that I’d given up, and the guy he beat—Jean Pascal—wasn’t any good. I’m fed up with people just mouthing me off and saying disrespectful things. I don’t like the guy, so why would I want to give him a payday?”
Calzaghe’s comments were in stark contrast to the congratulations that Froch gave Joe for his win over Mikkel Kessler.
Carl Froch recently fired back however, stating that it was a shame Calzaghe hasn’t had a career-defining fight.
“He’s got a good record, but I’m not going to lose my mind and say he’s a Sugar Ray Leonard, because he’s not. … I said a few weeks ago that he should retire. He got knocked on his ass by a 43-year-old and 40-year-old in his last two fights.
“I’m not stupid. Joe Calzaghe has been a great champion. He’s a warrior, he’s tough, he’s strong. He’s beaten everyone put in front of him. … But, how old was Roy Jones Junior when he fought him? He was 40 years old. Bernard Hopkins was 43. Roy Jones was at his best 15 years prior to when they fought.”
“The only person who will regret it now is Joe. He’ll retire wondering if he would’ve beaten me, and he’s not shut my mouth, has he?”
—Carl Froch
by Rob Carter… Watching the NBA draft in 2005, I waited for my Toronto Raptors to select their second round choice, not a ton of excitement for the 41st pick, considering the odds of uncovering a hidden gem is as likely as Shaq hitting a three pointer.
This year I was ready, I’d heard of a young, exciting point guard of the future, Roko Ukic. He hadn’t been selected in the first round as anticipated and as each selection passed the closer the Toronto pick came. Rob Babcock didn’t disappoint, he made the selection I’d waited for. But with all things Babcock, it is a “good news, bad news” situation.
Roko, at six feet five inches, has been a pro since 16 years of age. He felt the prospect of sitting on an NBA bench would stall his progress. This information was enough to scare off enough GM’s looking for help in the following season. Babcock must have disagreed; this kid is worth waiting for!
January 2009, sitting in the sixth row vs. the Orlando Magic, I watched Roko penetrate at will, displaying speed and an eerie similarity to Jose Calderon, the Raptors current starting point guard. I had one complaint though, the kid had no “J”, his release looked awkward and out of rhythm. I thought his progress would take some time.
About a month later the Raptors were scheduled to meet the San Antonio Spurs, No Bosh, no Calderon, another “L” was sure to follow. Roko kept up with Tony Parker, both trading blazing speed and an ankle breaking first step. Tony definitely “out classed” his young counterpart, but Roko didn’t look out of place.
Then Roko did something out of character, he had a much improved “J”, showing the ability to hit a long range shot. With just over 20 seconds and Ukic with the ball, the Spurs couldn’t leave space to stop his vicious first step; they had to protect his shot. Roko beat his man off the dribble, dropped a “tear drop”, game over Raps win.
And the Roko Ukic era begins.
By Mark Ritter…
It’s official, the long rumored dismissal of Pittsburgh Penguins Head Coach Michel Therrien has come to pass. Therrien, who had been on the hotseat since the late stages of last season, was given a stay of execution and stayed on throughout last years Stanley Cup Playoffs, leading the team to the Stanley Cup finals, only to lose to the mighty Detroit Red Wings. Recently, the Penguins have struggled, causing fans, management and players to question Therrien’s capabilities yet again. The final straw was a 6-2 loss on Saturday to the mediocre Toronto Maple Leafs, an uninspired effort left many shaking their heads as to what was wrong with the Penguins? The reality is, they haven’t been a good team in 6 weeks.
Currently the Penguins sit in 10th place in the NHL’s Eastern Conference, 20th overall, not exactly where most of us figured the Pens would be at this stage of the season. The reality is, this team is far too talented to be in this position, you can’t fire all the underachievers, so you fire the Coach.
Therrien leaves the Penguins having lead the team to two 47 win seasons and a trip to the Stanley Cup finals, but, in the end, that simply was not enough to keep him at the helm. His replacement will be the Penguins farm teams Head Coach Dan Bylsma, he has led the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins to a record of 35-16-1-2 this season, good enough for second spot in the second in the AHL’s Eastern Division and fourth overall. Blysma, who had an unimpressive, yet steady career as an NHL defenseman, was an Assistant Coach for the New York Islanders in the 2005/06 season.
Questions will surround the hiring of Blysma, Vice President and General Manager Ray Shero of the Pittsburgh Penguins was quoted as saying, “We believe we need a change in direction and, with 25 games remaining in the regular season, our goal remains to finish strong and qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs”. As for the question of Blysma’s hiring, Shero went on to say, “Dan Blysma is one of the bright young coaches in the game and has done an exceptional job as the Head Coach in Wilkes-Barre/Scranton this season”. That’s quite an endorsement for a Coach that is a relative unknown, isn’t it?
Shero, much like Bryan Murray did in Ottawa with his hiring of the Senators AHL affiliate Cory Clouston, is hoping to strike lightening with his hiring of Dan Blysma, snuffing the likes of Pat Quinn and Peter Laviolette to name a few of the senior NHL Coaches available.
Only time will tell if this move was the right one. The Penguino’s have 25 games to get their you know what together, for the most part, every player in that dressing room needs to take a personal inventory and ask themselves what level of blame they personally have in this franchises failures, Therrien may have been part of the problem, but like so many Coaches before him, you can only do so much, in the end the players play, the Coaches coach, it’s really that simple. It’s gut check time in Pittsburgh, they are known as the “City of Champions”, right now the whole organization is a loser, Pens fans will not accept this, and so they shouldn’t.
by Jack Porter… It is prediction time as the trade deadline draws near, last week I talked about who will stay and who goes in leaf land. This week I’m going to predict some trades that could happen on or before March 4th.
Toronto Trades
Alexei Ponikarovsky
To The Minnesota Wild For
5th round draft pick
Roman Voloshenko
Alexei’s name has popped up in trade rumors with the Wild and the Wild are in need of a big bodied player who is a decent scorer. Alexei has been thrown under the bus a lot this season but he still has 17 goals and 20 assists in 56 games this season. Meanwhile Burke is in the search for draft picks and prospects. Voloshenko is an average prospect scoring 30 points in 76 games with the Houston Aeros of the AHL. At 22 Roman could develop into a strong offensive presence. Although he left the Aeros to go back to play in Russia he may be persuaded to come to the Leafs and play with fellow Belarusian Mikhail Grabovski.
Toronto Trades
Jason Blake
To the Pittsburgh Penguins for
Miroslav Satan
Luca Caputi
The Pens signed Satan hoping he could play along side Sidney Crosby, but that experiment didn’t pan out. So the Pens will trade Satan to the Leafs for Blake. The two both have large contracts and will cancel each other out when it comes to salaries. The Pens however get a guy who is on pace for 30 plus goals. Blake could be the guy to work along side Crosby and for this the Leafs will also acquire prospect Luca Caputi as well. The Leafs also won’t be stuck with the struggling Satan as his contract is up at the end of this season.
Toronto Trades
Anton Stralman
To the Edmonton Oilers for
Ryan O’Marra
Although this is a minor deal and you might think it’s stupid to predict a trade like this, I really think this is a very possible trade. Edmonton is believed to be the front runner to land Jay Bouwmeester but even if they do get Jay there is a need for another defenseman with Grebeshkov going down with an ankle sprain. In Stralman the Oilers get a cheap 5th or 6th defenseman who still has growing potential. Also as soon as Grebeshkov gets healthy they have the option of sending Anton to the AHL. Burke would probably want a draft pick but due to cap restrictions on the Oilers part he would have to settle with a prospect like O’Marra. Stralman has fallen well out of favor in the Leafs organization.
Toronto Trades
Nik Antropov
Pavel Kubina
Jiri Tlusty
To the Columbus Blue Jackets for
Jiri Novotny
Rostislav Klesla
Jakub Voracek
3rd round draft pick
Besides a Thomas Kaberle trade I believe this could be a trade that really defines the Toronto rebuild. Columbus is in need of a number two center and a number one defenseman. They’ll get this in Antropov and Kubina. In return the Leafs get two roster players who have had some struggles but have loads of potential. They also get an outstanding prospect in Voracek, which is why the Jackets will want Tlusty to some what restock their prospect flow.
Toronto Trades
Thomas Kaberle
To the New Jersey Devils for
Travis Zajac
Matt Halischuk
1st Round draft pick
The deal everybody’s waiting for is the one involving Thomas Kaberle. Last year the Flyers almost got Kaberle for Jeff Carter (who is on pace for 90 points) and a 1st round draft pick. So it is not crazy to assume that Zajac (on pace for 68 points) would be traded with a prospect and 1st round pick.. The first round pick is a must for Brian Burke and Halischuck is the high end prospect expected in return for Thomas. As well the Devils are in need of a defenseman to shore up their blue line, so the deal fits perfectly.
Some may think a few or all of these predictions are crazy but I believe these are very plausible trades. No matter what though, these next two weeks should be exciting times for Leaf fans.
By Louis “King of Roncesvalles” Pisano (Photos by Matthew Bertoia)…
This was the second meeting between these two division rivals in less than a week. The first game saw a barrage of goals with a final score of 10-5 for the Marlies, and this game, although not as high scoring, still had its fair share of rubber hit the mesh.
RW #19 Jeremy Williams, just sent down to join the Marlies made his presence felt immediately, scoring the first goal of the game on another slick pass from C #13 Andre Deveaux, beating Griffins goalie Larsson high glove side.
After the Marlies jumped out to a two goal lead on a tally by D #2 Richard Petiot, C #19 Justin Abdelkader bulged the twine for the Griffins. 2-1 Marlies end of one.
Six goals were scored in the second period, five in the last five minutes. C # 17 Tim Stapleton scored twice, continuing his bid for a call up. Both goals were assisted by LW # 41 Yuri Tlusty who also potted a goal of his own. C #19 Justin Abdelkader scored his second of the game in a wild period, ending 5-4 Marlies.
Tlusty said of his recent success “My team mates are playing well and especially my line mates, things are clicking right now.”
Abdelkader said of his goals “One was a tip, ya know I know it was a high stick but it hit their guy and that negated the high stick, you know you kinda create your own chances, and the second one was a great pass from Emmerton and just fired it right away and got it up stairs on Pogge.”
With 3:55 left in a mostly uneventful period, the Marlies D #5 Joey Ryan was assessed a questionable slashing penalty. C #47 Daryl Boyce did an outstanding job on his part to negate the power play and after a failed attempt by the Griffins with their net empty, the game concluded with a final score of 5-4 Marlies. Pogge stopped 23 of 27 and got his 19th win of the season.
Question from our readers
Canadian Beaver is tasty asked me to get an opinion from an opposing player as to whether or not Justin Pogge is ready to make that jump into the NHL.
C #19 Justin Abdelkader of the Grand Rapids Griffins has had some experience up in the NHL and will definitely become a full time player with the Detroit Red Wings in the future.
When asked about Pogge he said “I mean he’s a big goalie he takes up a lot of space, you know it’s hard to say, guys can be really good down here, and not do as well in the NHL, or not be really good down here and do really well in the NHL, it’s hard to say if he’s going to be a good NHL goalie or not. I guess you just have to see how he does at that level, cause, like I said some guys are good down here and not as good in the NHL, you just have to see how he adjusts.”
By English Paul…
The Mitchell report; Barry Bond’s upcoming perjury trial; Alex Rodriguez admitting he used banned substances. The nightmare goes on and on.
I was really looking forward to the new baseball season. Unfortunately the latest in a long line of drug revelations, involving Rodriguez and 103 other (currently) unnamed players, took the wind out of my sales.
With the furore surrounding the self-inflicted damage regarding drug use in Baseball, I found myself desperately looking for something to renew my enthusiasm for the upcoming season.
Thankfully, I might just have found it with the news that Ken Griffey Junior appears to be heading back to Seattle to finish his playing career. Even though the Mariners will not be getting the same player who left them in 1999, signing ‘the kid’ would be a huge boost for the team.
Given the current economic situation and coming off their first 100 loss season since 1983, this is a deal, which would undoubtedly lead to an increase in attendances and interest for the Mariners in 2009. It would also provide some much-needed optimism for a region, which endured a nightmare in the sports world during 2008.
Junior has not hidden his desire to go back to Seattle and retire as a Mariner. This wish appeared to reach fever pitch upon his return to the area with Cincinnati, the team he left Seattle for, during 2007.
The fans came out in their droves, filling out Safeco Field for the three game inter-league series. The Mariners honoured him with a 15-minute presentation before the first game, resulting in a four minute standing ovation.
The standing ovations continued throughout the series, ending with a fitting finale as Griffey hit two home runs in the final game. This was followed by an emotional speech in which he declared his wish to retire as a Mariner, if the right situation presented itself.
While it may be a bit far-fetched to expect the same type of atmosphere and production for each of the 81 home games in 2009, it’s easy to see how the signing of Ken Griffey Junior would galvanise the team, the fans and indeed the entire area.
In fact, you can already feel the buzz being created around the Mariners organisation with the potential re-signing of Seattle’s best ever player.
Some of the pitchers and catchers reported a day early for training camp. Players such as Felix Hernandez, Ryan Rowland-Smith and Jeff Clement talked about what a thrill it would be to play with a living legend.
As good as his career has been, there is always the temptation to ask ‘what if?’ in the case of Griffey.
Just think: Take away the numerous injuries he endured in the nine seasons since leaving Seattle.
Now imagine if Bud Selig had actually introduced some semblance of a drug-testing policy around the same time as the other major sports leagues in North America. Without the advantage of steroids, certain players would not have had quite so productive careers.
Suddenly, it’s not too far fetched to imagine that Ken Griffey would be very close to being the one to take over Hank Aaron’s home run record. Wouldn’t it have been great to see him returning to Seattle and breaking Baseballs most hallowed record in front of his adoring fans?
Ok, ok, I’ll stop with the trip into fantasy world (reached without the aid of drugs I might add.) As it is, he stands fifth on the all-time list, with 611 home runs, which is impressive enough.
Whatever you may think of Ken Griffey Junior, he has always played the game the right way. His career has never been dogged by the controversies that seem to surround many of today’s pro athletes.
And what a career it’s been. First overall pick of the 1987 amateur draft, most valuable player award in 1997, thirteen all-star selections, ten-time gold glove award winner, seven silver slugger awards. His play from the centre field position was considered the standard during the nineties.
Statistically speaking, as well as those 611 home runs, there has been 2,679 hits; 1,772 runs batted in; 1,612 runs; 502 doubles. We could go on all day.
Griffey has always been known for having fun and playing the game with enthusiasm. And who can forget that smile which never seems to leave his face. His charisma has always shone through. Players, fans and media alike, clamour to spend time around the great man.
Having a father who also played professional baseball no doubt helped shape the person and the player that has been Ken Griffey Junior.
Hell, even Safeco Field is called ‘the house that Griffey built.’ While not strictly true, he was certainly a part of the chain of events, which would eventually lead to the Mariners current home being built.
His private life has also proved to be just as uncontroversial. Married, with three children (one of who was adopted), he changed his uniform number to three in 2006 in honour of his kids.
Even the reasons for leaving the Mariners in the first place were different from a lot of players, who normally cite money as the major issue.
Having previously lived in Orlando, he resided in the same neighbourhood as Payne Stewart. After Stewart’s tragic death in a plane crash during 1999, Ken Griffey re-evaluated his priorities, deciding he wanted to live closer to his relatives in Cincinnati.
Seattle did not stand in his way, trading Junior to the Cincinnati Reds, to play for the same team as his father. While not enjoying as much success with the Reds, Ken Griffey never the less enjoyed playing in the Queen City, where he had grown up.
Now, after a brief stint with the Chicago White Sox, all that remains is for him to get together with the Mariners and finalise the deal that gets this guy back to Seattle. If they do, I will thank them for saving a season, which looked lost before it had even begun.
Goodness knows, the MLB needs Ken Griffey Junior now, more than ever; someone who embodies what professional Baseball is meant to be about.
Paul Taylor can be contacted at [email protected]
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